Exercise Ball Crunch
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- An exercise ball
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Sit on an exercise ball and walk your feet forward until your lower back is supported on it.
- Set your feet flat, about hip-width apart, for a stable base.
- Cross your arms over your chest or rest your fingertips beside your ears.
- Let your torso extend back over the ball so the abdominals lengthen.
- Curl your ribs toward your hips, lifting the shoulders and upper back off the ball.
- Lower under control back over the ball, keeping it still.
Common mistakes
- Letting the ball roll. Holding it still is what makes the range usable; a ball that travels means the legs are pushing and the trunk is along for it.
- Skipping the extension over the ball. Starting from a rounded position wastes the one thing the ball adds — a range that starts behind flat, which a floor crunch cannot reach.
- Pulling on the head with the hands. Fingertips rest beside the ears and the neck stays in line with the spine.
- Sitting too far forward on the ball. The lower back should be supported at the start; too far forward and the ball supports the hips instead, which turns the movement into a sit-up.